MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW: Chairlift's Caroline Polacheck and Violens' Jorge Elbrecht's beautiful, bizarre remix of Justin Bieber's "Never Let You Go" video
By Kenny Herzog
Justin Bieber (top) and Chairlift's Caroline Polachek: To quote AC/DC, who made who?
As has oft-been expressed on this site, Justin Bieber's appeal and subtle creepy factor both derive from his off-putting unisexuality. Except no one has yet to perfectly articulate the teen-phenom/sub-par linguist's confounding post-genderism (although actually, that's not a bad attempt).
Until, that is, Caroline Polachek and Jorge Elbrecht—frontpersons for indie-synth-popsters Chairlift (you probably know their song "Bruises" from a frequently aired iPod Nano ad) and more angular outfit Violens, respectively—created what they refer to as a SGIN of Justin Bieber's video for "Never Let You Go."
According to Chairlift's MySpace, Polacheck and Elbrecht conceived SGINs (an anagram for "sing") as the superimposing of an entirely new song and lyrics onto an existing video so that the music and images still remain perfectly in sync.
The result? For starters, an absolutely beautiful song that evokes the Cocteau Twins' sophisticated dream-pop (Polachek is, by turns, a dead vocal ringer for the Twins' Elisabeth Fraser and Everything but the Girl's Tracey Thorn) and Eurythmics' moody new-wave electro. That, and a startling new vantage point on chest-thumping Tiger Beat-icon Bieber, who, in this re-imagining, could easily be mistaken for an adolescent lesbian courting his damsel-haired paramour.
Whether by Polachek and Elbrecht's design or not, the project also serves as commentary on the superficiality of Bieber's official video (viewable below) for "Never Let You Go," directed by Colin Tilley. Polacheck and Elbrecht's ability to successfully "SGIN" Tilley's clip speaks as much to the orignal's arbitrariness as it does the re-interpreters' vision and diligence.
Polachek and Elbrecht's "Never Let You Go" has continually been taken down from user-supported hubs like YouTube and Vimeo by Universal Music Group, and is currently only publicly available here, so you'd not only be engaging with a Twitter-worthy viral gem, but supporting outsider art to boot.
IN OTHER WORDS: Whether it starts a SGIN-ing revolution or not, this is some endlessly watchable s*&t.
ORIGINAL "NEVER LET YOU GO" VIDEO RATING: 4/10
CAROLINE POLACHEK AND JORGE ELBRECHT SGIN RATING: 9.5/10
JUSTIN BIEBER AS A TEENAGE LESBIAN RATING: LOL/10
© 2010 REVIEWniverse.com
Comments
"superficiality of Bieber's official video"
they made a song to superimpose over JB's video, who exactly is superficial here, FAIL 1000% why bother and what's the point? so weird
Hey Luda,
I totally get your point, and I think for people who haven't really spent any time even thinking about the Justin Bieber phenomenon, it resonates as maybe a bit superfluous.
And I'm not saying it's high art either. Nor do I think it was intended as such. But I do absolutely think it functions as a commentary on how indistinct most pop videos are, yet they proliferate even in the user-controlled viral era. So this is just kind of a cool (and corporately halted) attempt to subvert that (and perhaps take a dig at Bieber's alarming every-sex sexlessness). And the fact that maybe it wasn't that complicated to do is kind of the point. But the larger point is that no one else thought of it. And it becomes worthy of any attention because the song itself happens to be outstanding and genuinely moving.
Thanks for reading though Luda, and all opinions are welcome here.
KH
this is so excellent
thats really cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.all i knw i luvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv justin bieberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!